Man who grabbed partner by throat during ‘menacing’ assault gets suspended sentence

A man who grabbed his then-girlfriend by the throat during a “menacing and terrifying” assault has been given a fully suspended sentence.

Iain Macnab subjected his partner to a “sinister” attack which happened “over a prolonged period of time within the sanctity of the family home”, Judge Martina Baxter told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday. “This prolonged period of abuse was menacing and terrifying and no doubt sinister,” the judge said.

She added: “In terms of the physical assault, there is also the emotional and mental assault.”

Macnab (27) of Spencer Dock, Dublin, pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to his then partner and one count of criminal damage at Poolbeg Quay, Ringsend on January 19th last year. The court heard he was abusing cannabis at the time.

He has no previous convictions.

Judge Baxter handed down a sentence of two-and-a-half years for the assault and a sentence of 12 months for the criminal damage charge. She suspended both sentences on a number of conditions, including that Macnab continue to attend a domestic abuse perpetrators’ programme.

The judge noted Macnab was extremely remorseful, has since come off drugs, has not come to Garda attention since and has an excellent work history. Macnab is now a HR manager and is “seen as a leader of others”, the judge said.

A probation report found he was unlikely to re-offend.

“He has engaged in counselling and has changed in terms of maturing and acknowledging the fact he has to effectively deal with his emotions and anger without using his fists or other force,” the judge said.

Garda Alan Byrne previously told the court that he received a call from Macnab’s partner and he visited her at her aunt’s apartment. She was in a distressed state and had red marks around her neck.

The court heard that over the course of the evening in question, the couple were arguing at home and Macnab was acting paranoid and going through her phone over the course of about three hours. At one stage, Macnab kicked the handle off the front door.

When she eventually said she was going to call the gardaí­, Macnab jumped on top of her and put his hands around her throat, the court heard. She was panicking and struggling to breathe, before he let go and shook her by the jumper.

She managed to escape to her aunt’s home and call gardaí­. While gardaí were there, Macnab turned up at the aunt’s apartment and was arrested. He made full admissions when questioned.